The regular season is officially in the books, and the focus is on the postseason. The Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears square off in the Wild Card round for the third time this season, adding another layer to the ongoing rivalry between these NFC North rivals.
Another Packers-Bears clash is worth being excited over, and the way that the NFL scheduled this weekend's clash will make Green Bay fans even more pumped for what's to come.
NFL Does Packers a Massive Favor with Wild Card Schedule
Right after Week 18 ended, the NFL revealed that the Packers and Bears will face off at Soldier Field this Saturday with an 8 p.m. ET start time. That certainly works out in Green Bay's favor, given how head coach Matt LaFleur approached the regular-season finale.
The Packers rested the majority of their starters in the Week 18 loss to the Minnesota Vikings since they were locked into the seventh seed in the NFC playoff bracket. Now, the decision to rest those key players looks even better.
On the flip side, the Bears were playing for seeding and played all their starters in the process. That didn't matter with the Detroit Lions beating the Bears 19-16. Chicago decided to make Rome Odunze (foot) and Ozzy Trapilo (knee/quad) inactive as they are nursing injuries.
Although there's no telling if Trapilo will play in the Wild Card game, the fact that he was inactive isn't promising since the Bears had something to play for in the season finale. It shows he'll be limping into the postseason. As for Odunze, he's been sidelined since Week 13 and was "noncommittal" when discussing a potential return on Friday (h/t @JasonLieser).
And to make matters worse, it appears that defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson suffered a concussion in the fourth quarter against the Lions, putting his status for this game in doubt.
Packers' Are Getting Healthier Before Postseason
For a Packers team that has dealt with several injuries itself, it appears the decision to rest their starters was the correct one. They will have Jordan Love back under center after his concussion, with players like Josh Jacobs, Xavier McKinney, Zack Tom, and Edgerrin Cooper entering the playoffs fresher after sitting out Week 18.
This time off was just another bye week for these guys. With one less day of rest and recovery, the Bears must turn the page more quickly after playing a tough division game. Now they have to get ready for another divisional game, in which these teams split the regular season series.
Teams want any sort of advantage they can get when going into the postseason, and it looks like the Packers have that rest working in their favor. Following the Bears' loss, head coach Ben Johnson said (h/t @DepBearsFan), "Some teams, they rest their starters. We don’t. We play football." Now, that decision could come back to bite him.
Some Packers fans felt that was a shot at them, but it doesn't matter. Everything will be settled on the football field on Jan. 10, and from the outside looking in, Green Bay has some things working in its favor. And it'll be interesting to see if Johnson regrets that decision.
It's also worth noting that James Palmer of The Athletic and Bleacher Report revealed that last season, four teams rested their QBs in Week 18 and all four won their first playoff game. Obviously, things vary, but that's a stat that seems to show the Packers made the right choice.